Hand luggage



April 10, 1934. G. H. WHEARY ET AL HAND LUGGAGE Filed Jan. 5, 1931 P 75Henry Wfim-zrg/ U7 M. Ham/217 8V A T TOR/V Patented Apr. 10, 1934 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE HAND LUGGAGE Application January 5, 1931, SerialNo. 506,683

2 Claims.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in handluggage and has as an object the provision of an improved case wherebyone or more garments, particularly com plete mens suits, may be readilycarried without wrinkling and at the same time provide ample space forother articles without increasing the overall size or weight of thecase.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of improvedmeans for carrying garments within the case whereby the entire garmentis in full sight as the case is being closed so that any wrinkles orfolds therein may be removed.

A further object of this invention resides in the provision of improvedmeans for supporting the garment hanger proper within one section of thecase which likewise provides means for readily releasably retaining aninternal cover or horizontal partition member in an open position topermit free access to the lower section of the case for packing andunpacking.

A still further object of this invention resides in the provision of animproved case of the character described which is equally adaptable foruse as ladies or men's hand luggage.

With the above and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, our invention resides in the novel construction,combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafterdescribed and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it beingunderstood that such changes in the precise embodiment of thehereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of theclaims.

In the accompanying drawing, we have illustrated one complete example ofthe physical embodiment of our invention constructed according to thebest mode we have so far devised for the 0 practical application of theprinciples thereof,

and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a mans case embodying this invention,the case being shown in open position with a mans suit in position justprior to closing of the case;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken through the case on theplane of the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the means formounting one end of the horizontal rod about which the medial portion ofthe garments fold when the case is closed;

Figure 4 is a perspective View of one end portion of the said rod;

Figure 5 is a plan view looking at the underside of the structure shownin Figure 3, said view being taken on the plane of the line 5-5 ofFigure 3; and

Figure 6 is a cross section view in perspective taken through Figure 1on the plane of the line 66 and illustrating the novel manner in whichthe garment hanger support is utilized for releasably securing theinternal cover or partition mem ber of the case in open position.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, in whichlike numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, 5designates the main section of a luggage carrier of the hand case typehaving a cover section 6 hingedly connected thereto along one marginal 7edge as at 7.

As is customary, the case is provided with a conventional handle 8 andone or more pairs of cooperating locking devices 9. The interior of themain section may be partitioned according to the requirements for whichthe case is especially designed and in the present instance, a partitionwall 10 is mounted in the main section parallel with, but spaced fromthe rear wall 11 by guides 12. An internal cover 13 is hingedly mountedto close the main section 5 and when in position closing the same issubstantially flush with the main section upper marginal edges. Thepartition 13 is hinged to the rear wall 11 of the main section 5 as at14 and its forward or outer free end portion rests upon supports orbrackets 15 carried by the side walls of the main section, and has a tab16 to facilitate lifting the same from its position over the mainsection to an open upright position where it may be releasably retainedby means to be later described.

Provision is made for carrying one or more complete mens suits withinthe space or compartment defined by the cover 6 so that garments, whenproperly positioned therein, will be as neat 9 and unwrinkled whenremoved as when first placed therein, and in fact experience has shownthat when the garments have been properly placed within the case, smallwrinkled portions thereof are removed. This garment carrying 0 meansincludes a garment hanger 17 removably supported from the, front panelor wall 18 of the cover section 6, and the garment or suit 19 carriedthereby extends downwardly along the top or outer wall 20 and has itsmedial portion held adjacent a curved wall or panel 21 joining thewal120 and rear wall 21' of the cover section, by a garment supportingmember or bar 22 to be later described, and the extreme outer or lowerend portion of the garment is held against the 0 internal cover orpartition 16 by a compression bar 23.

The hanger 17 is preferably of the conventional mans type illustrated inthe co-pending application of George Henry Wheary, Serial No. 411,091filed. Dec. 2, 1929, Patent No. 1,869,447, Aug. 2, 1932 and having a topbar 24 of approximately inverted V shape to conform with the shouldersof a mans coat and a connecting bottom horizontal bar 25 over which thetrousers are adapted to be draped. A projection or boss 26.

extends vertically from the apex of the top bar 24 to mount onapproximately T shaped head or fastening member 27 adapted forengagement in the T shaped slot 28 of a keeper 29 carried by the outerfree end of the cover member. The keeper 29 is preferably stamped fromsheet metal and has its horizontal slotted part spaced from the coverfront panel 18 with its forward end curved forwardly and formed with theT shaped opening for the admission of the head or fastener 27, so thatwhen placed therein the hanger is suspended therefrom in the mannerillustrated in Figure 6.

The bar 22 is preferably covered with a suitable padding 30 and hasmounting members 31 at its ends. The ends of the mounting members areheaded and the shank portions 32 thereof are adapted to be received inapproximately J shaped slots 33 formed in keepers 34 secured to the sidewalls or panels 35 of the cover member adjacent its hinged connectionwith the main section.

I The keepers 34 each have a flat spring or other yieldable means 35which holds the shanks 32 of the mounting members 31 in the closed endportions 36 of the J shaped slots in the keepers to prevent accidentaldetachment of the bar 22.

After a suit or other garment has been placed on the hanger and thehanger suspended from the keeper 29, the garment is arranged with itslower endresting on the partition or internal cover 13 and the bar 22 issecured in position. The garment is then straightened so that all foldsoccur at their proper places, and the compression bar 23 secured inplace in the manner illustrated in Figure 1 so as to hold both the lowerpart of the garment and the ends of the sleeves.

The means for attaching the compression bar 23 comprises a member 37secured to one end thereof and having a yieldable hook elementdetachably connectible with a member 38 at the adjacent margin of theinternal cover or partition 13, and a member 39 at the other end of thebar which likewise has a detachable connection with a member 40 carriedby the opposite marginal edge of the cover 13. The specific constructionof the compression bar and its means of attachment is similar to thatillustrated in the co-pending application of George Henry Wheary, SerialNo. 500,770 filed Dec. 8, 1930, Patent No. 1,919,082, Julyl8, 1933.

With the garment properly arranged it is in the position illustrated inFigures 1 and 2 and as the case is closed it is in full view so thatcare may be exercised to see that no undue wrinkles or folds occurtherein incident to the closing action. It will be apparent that thecapacity of the case as to the number of garments which may beaccommodated is governed only by the depth of the cover, so that byvarying this depth the capacity of the case may be decreased orincreased.

The rod 22 may be termed a roller in that it is free to rotate duringremoval of the garment to obviate the necessity of removing the same.

When access is desired to the main section of the case for packing orunpacking, the internal cover or partition 13 may be readily releasablyheld in its raised or open position by engaging a T headed member 41slidably carried, as at 42, on the undersurface of the partition nearits outer free end, in the keeper 29 in the manner illustrated in Figure6.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, it will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art to which an invention of the character described appertains,that we provide a novel and improved case having provision for packing acomplete mans suit or similar garmenttand holding the same againstwrinkling and one in which the garment is in full view during theclosing of the case so as to insure proper arrangement.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a hand luggage case a main compartment, a cover hingedly connectedto said compartment, a garment hanger adapted to have a garment drapedthereover, means at the outer free end of said cover for mounting thegarment hanger whereby a garment draped thereover extends across saidcover beyond the hinged connection over the main compartment, meanscarried by the case adjacent the hinged connection of its sections forholding the medial portion of the garment, a panel hingedly mountedadjacent the first named hinged connection and forming an internal coverfor said main compartment, said panel supporting the extended portion ofthe garment, means for holding the extended portion of the garmentagainst said panel whereby the panel may be moved into and out ofalignment with either the main compartment or the cover when the case isopen without deranging the garment, and means including the garmenthanger mounting means for holding the panel substantially parallel tothe cover.

2. In a hand luggage case, a main compartment, a cover hingedlyconnected to said main compartment, a garment hanger retaining membermounted in the outer free end portion of the cover, a garment hangerengageable with said retaining member and adapted to have a garmentdraped thereon to extend past the hinged connection of the cover to themain compartment, a panel hingedly mounted adjacent the hinge connectionbetween the cover and main compartment to support the outer free ends ofthe garment, means adjacent the hinged mounting of said panel aboutwhich the garment may be folded, and means on the outer free end of thepanel engageable with the hanger retaining member to secure the panel insubstantially flat alignment with the cover.

GEORGE HENRY WHEARY. BENJAMIN M. HAMLIN.

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